Sunday, 2 June 2013

MMM - Day 11 and a new Tiramisu

Day 11 of Me-Made-May was a reasonably warm day in Nashville and I was able to take this dress out of my suitcase finally!

This is my second Tiramisu, my first (blogged here) was reasonable successful when first made, but over time has stretched and stretched and now is not looking so great. Still comfy as heck but I don't really leave the house in it too much now. The fabric has a lot of looseness to it and when it stretches, it doesn't bounce back. Aaah, the things we learn from fabric choice.

My second version I made a little differently. I cut a size 35 bodice but with an inch off the bottom. I also took just over an inch off the depth of the waistband (since I am a shortie). This fixed some of the fit issues I had on the first version. Instead of following the pattern marking, I draped the bodice on to get the bodice to sit right. I also ended up running in the side seams by about 1.5"and now, finally, I am happy with the fit.

Also as before I omitted the pockets, whilst I love pockets, I didn't want to add them, stick my hands in them and stretch the dress out of shape.

My best improvement this time was my choice of fabric, a high quality cotton rayon with a small amount of spandex. I think the spandex has really helped the fabric to keep its shape rather than stretching indefinitely.

With these changes I am now really happy with this pattern, I love the swooshy skirt and the flattering neckline, plus the dress can easily be super casual or dressed up.